Harris looks to reach NCAA Championships for fifth time
The South Carolina women’s golf team is set to kick off its much anticipated 2013 season this weekend at the Cougar Classic in Hanahan, S.C.
The Gamecocks, ranked No. 20 by Golfweek’s preseason countdown, return from a year in which the team reached its fourth consecutive NCAA Championship finals appearance under coach Kalen Harris.
Sarah Schmelzel, a sophomore from Phoenix, Ariz., had the team’s lowest scoring average (74.78) as a freshman last season. She posted two top-10 finishes in 11 events, including a third-place finish at the Bryan National Collegiate and an eighth-place finish at the Southeastern Conference Championship. Schmelzel’s success last season landed her a spot on the SEC’s All-Freshman Team.
“Sarah’s been a key, consistent player in our lineup. She’s going to continue to play well — she’s very driven — she’s going to continue to put up consistent numbers,” Harris said. “She was very reliable last year. She’ll be that person again; that’s who she is.”
The experienced women’s golf team returns four starters and brings in two freshmen to complete a roster that may be one of the best Harris has had in her stint as head coach.
“I am excited about the team we have this year,” Harris said. “We have two great freshmen that have come in, and I think this a team with the most depth I’ve had since I’ve been here.”
Freshmen Katelyn Dambaugh and Jia Xin Yang will also look to make an immediate impact for the Gamecocks this season. Harris expects her freshmen to act as a catalyst for the upperclassmen this year from a competitive standpoint and to compete with her juniors and sophomores in team qualifiers.
“Katelyn just won our qualifier to go to the first event,” Harris said. “She just steps right in and wins our qualifier … This is by far one of the best qualifiers I’ve had since I’ve been here.”
Dambaugh, a freshman from Goose Creek, S.C., is a name many have been talking about during the offseason. She was the runner-up at the 2010 U.S. Girls’ Junior Championship and made the Round of 32 at the U.S. Women’s Amateur tournament this August. Dambaugh’s coach thinks her talent has the potential to bring the Gamecocks to the next level this season.
Early next week (Sept. 8-10) the Gamecocks will send Dambaugh, Schmelzel, sophomore Mary Fran Hillow, senior Samantha Swinehart, and senior Suzie Lee to compete against Auburn, Baylor, The College of Charleston, Charleston Southern, Clemson, Coastal Carolina, Florida, Furman, LSU, Maryland, Ole Miss, Mississippi State, Missouri, North Carolina State, Tennessee, Penn State, UNC-Greensboro, Wake Forest and Wisconsin in the Cougar Classic.